Centrifugal Disc Orienting Machine for Bulk Articles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for orienting and aligning items from a reclined and random position on a conveyor often result in items bouncing off or being superimposed, requiring additional devices and complex adjustments, and do not effectively modify the vertical orientation of items from a reclined to an upright position.
Innovation Solution
A machine with a first conveyor featuring a feeder section and a collection section, utilizing a detection system and transfer robots to orient and align items, and a centrifugal disc receptacle that rotates to transfer items laterally to the feeder section without drops, allowing for efficient orientation and alignment on a second conveyor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If items are supplied on the first conveyor by drop, then the items can be placed on the conveyor, but some items bounce off or are left superimposed, hindering their collection by transfer robots
Solution Approach 1:
The items are pre-oriented in a reclined position within the receptacle before being transferred to the conveyor. This preliminary arrangement ensures that when items are released, they maintain a controlled orientation that prevents bouncing and superimposition during conveyance, directly resolving the reliability issue while maintaining productivity
2Ease of operation
If the supply speed of items is adjusted to the speed of the first conveyor, then item transfer can be synchronized, but this requires complex speed adjustment mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The receptacle and first conveyor are designed to move at the same speed, creating an equipotential condition where items experience no relative motion or speed differential between release and conveyance. This eliminates the need for complex speed adjustment mechanisms while achieving perfect synchronization, directly addressing both ease of operation and device complexity
3Productivity
If transfer robots pick up items from a reclined and random position, then they can collect items efficiently, but items must be precisely positioned for robot grippers
Solution Approach 1:
Items are pre-oriented in a reclined position with their longitudinal axes substantially parallel to the conveyor direction before reaching the transfer zone. This preliminary positioning ensures that when transfer robots approach, items are already in the correct orientation for efficient gripping and transfer, simultaneously achieving high productivity and precise positioning without requiring complex positioning mechanisms
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The machine efficiently orients and aligns items from a reclined to an upright position without bouncing or piling, eliminating the need for additional devices and complex adjustments, ensuring continuous operation with automatic adjustment of item transfer.
Implementation Method 1
a circular centrifugal disc that rotates around an inclined axis relative to the vertical and defines a lower peripheral area surrounded by a perimeter wall to store items in bulk, and an upper peripheral area, adjacent and substantially at the same level as the feeder section and lacking a perimeter wall interposed between the upper peripheral area and the feeder section, for transferring said items, through lateral sliding, from the upper peripheral area of the centrifugal disc to the feeder section when the centrifugal disc rotates at sufficient speed
Data Source
AI summary
A machine for orienting and aligning items supplied in bulk, comprising a first conveyor (10) having a feeder section (11), a collection section (12) and a return section (13); a second conveyor (20); a detection system (30); and a plurality of transfer robots (40) for transferring items from the first conveyor onto the second conveyor, modifying the orientation thereof, where the feeder section is supplied with objects by a feeder device for items in bulk, including a circular centrifugal disc (50) that rotates around an inclined axis (E), with an upper peripheral area (51) adjacent to and substantially at the same level as the feeder section (11), and where the return section (13) is adjacent to the receptacle (50, 53) of the feeder of items in bulk.